He’s right there with Jamarcus for modern era #1 bust QBs don’t you think? A precipitous fall from grace.
Nobody comes close to Russell. Mayfield is a bust because he's just not good. Russell was a bust because he was the laziest player to ever be handed a roster spot and was not committed to his job. He would fall asleep during film review, never studied the playbook, didn't work out, etc. The best story is the one where the OC gave him a DVD of the game plan to study in the evening and the next day he asked Russell what he thought of the plays. Russell said the game plan looked great and he was ready to go. The DVD was blank. That's when they finally pulled the plug on him.
Nobody comes close to Russell. Mayfield is a bust because he's just not good. Russell was a bust because he was the laziest player to ever be handed a roster spot and was not committed to his job. He would fall asleep during film review, never studied the playbook, didn't work out, etc. The best story is the one where the OC gave him a DVD of the game plan to study in the evening and the next day he asked Russell what he thought of the plays. Russell said the game plan looked great and he was ready to go. The DVD was blank. That's when they finally pulled the plug on him.
Wasn't he the big reason why the NFL brought in the rookie salary cap?
That he was. But no doubt JaMarcus was the reason for the rookie cap. So by being the mega bust he was he unwittingly changed the NFL forever. Poverty rookie QB contracts are the best SB winning building block there is now.
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
JaMarcus (Bless his NFL Soul) was the tipping point. But the Raiders and Lions and some other perpetual high drafters kept running into cap problems because they were stuck with dead cap from overpaid underperformed rookie deals. Drafting high almost became too punitive because teams who missed could not get away from those deals.
__________________ "Some guys like old balls"
Patriots QB Tom Brady
It would have been fun to see what Luck's contract would have been sans rookie cap. Might have gone right into the top 3 or so QB contracts. But the rookie cap, and the fifth year option, are why teams are so willing to reach for QBs. But with the 2021 class looking like a debacle and 2022 not much better, maybe we'll see some regression on reaching for guys.
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
It would have been fun to see what Luck's contract would have been sans rookie cap. Might have gone right into the top 3 or so QB contracts. But the rookie cap, and the fifth year option, are why teams are so willing to reach for QBs. But with the 2021 class looking like a debacle and 2022 not much better, maybe we'll see some regression on reaching for guys.
I don't know that I'd call the 2021 class a debacle. Fields looks like he's developing into a decent QB. Let's see what he looks like when he gets some decent weapons and an offensive line. Same goes for Lawrence.
Lance was always going to be a 2-3 year project, so I'm sticking a TBD on him. Jones is a serviceable starter but not a guy you win a Super Bowl with.
That he was. But no doubt JaMarcus was the reason for the rookie cap. So by being the mega bust he was he unwittingly changed the NFL forever. Poverty rookie QB contracts are the best SB winning building block there is now.
Except that their has been 2? Super Bowl winning QB drafted in the 1st round since the cap - Maholmes and Flacco
And I don’t think anyone thinks the Ravens won because Flacco was on a rookie contract (although it sunk the franchise when they had to pay him- he’s was a mid 1st who wouldn’t had gotten a crazy deal in the old structure )
It helps compete for sure - but it hasn’t translated into superbowls.
They didn't win because Flacco was on a rookie contract but they won because he had the best stretch of his career with 11 TD passes and 0 INT's in 4 games which is as good a playoff performance as you will see from a QB.
They didn't win because Flacco was on a rookie contract but they won because he had the best stretch of his career with 11 TD passes and 0 INT's in 4 games which is as good a playoff performance as you will see from a QB.
Agreed - which again points to although rookies contract help a team build a contender , ultimately timing QB play regardless of salary is what actually wins Super Bowls
Bringing up Brady actually makes me amend my thought: A QB on a below market deal, rookie or not, is the best path to winning. Brady has pretty much always been below market, sometimes by a lot. Now maybe he was being paid under the table by Kraft through Alex Guerrero or whatever, but his cap hit was still closer to mid tier QB than elite QB.
It's also not just QBs either. Vikings are getting like $25 million a year in value right now from Jefferson making $4 million per. When that rookie deal runs out and he's making $30 million + it's gonna be harder for them to win....unless they find a poverty QB to pay $6 million a year to and not Cousins at $35 million per
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
Yeah it's a little bit underhanded what was going on with the Patriots and Brady and his TB12 company. Clearly Kraft covered his bases well enough that they weren't in violation of the salary cap but I don't believe for a second he left tens of millions in career earnings on the table because he was about winning above all else. I don't think that's something that will be replicated with other players/organizations. Going forward it's going to be tougher and tougher to win with a top QB as in 2023 at least three QB's will eclipse the 20% of their team's salary cap which is a lot on a 52 man roster.
They didn't win because Flacco was on a rookie contract but they won because he had the best stretch of his career with 11 TD passes and 0 INT's in 4 games which is as good a playoff performance as you will see from a QB.
They won because Rahim Moore is a son of a bitch and I’ll see him in hell
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